Terence Patrick Terry BRENNAN

11 JUN 1928 - 7 SEP 2021

• BIRTH: 11 JUN 1928, Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin
• DEATH: 7 SEP 2021, Glenview, Cook, Illinois

INDEX

[N29536] Terence Patrick "Terry" Brennan
June 11, 1928 - Sept 7, 2021

Glenview - Terence Patrick "Terry" Brennan age 93 of Glenview. Beloved husband of the late Mary Louise "Kel" Brennan nee Kelley for 50 years; loving father of Terence (Gilmore) Brennan, Dinny (John) Dwyer, Jane (Rich ard) Lipton, Christopher (Diane) Brennan, Joseph (Barbara) Brennan and Matthew (Marilyn) Brennan; proud grandfather of 25; great-grandfather of 32; dear brother of Eileen (the late Bernard) McCullough and Virginia (the late Joseph) Brennan. Terry was a Player and Coach at University of Notre Dame as well as an Investment Banker, Broadcaster and Broadcasting Executive. Visitation Friday September 10, 2021 9:00 a.m. until time of Funeral Mass 11:00 a.m. at Saints Faith, Hope and Charity Church, 191 Linden Street, Winnetka, Illinois 60093. Interment private Sacred Heart Cemetery. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Marquette University High School, Terry Brennan '45 Memorial Scholarship, 3401 W. Wisconsin Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53208 or University of Notre Dame, Terry Brennan '49 Memorial Scholarship, 1100 Grace Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556. Info: donnellanfuneral.com or (847) 675-1990.

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Terence Patrick “Terry” Brennan age 93 of Glenview. Beloved husband of the late Mary Louise “Kel” Brennan nee Kelley for 50 years; loving father of Terence (Gilmore) Brennan, Dinny (John) Dwyer, Jane (Richard) Lipton, Christopher (Diane) Brennan, Joseph (Barbara) Brennan and Matthew (Marilyn) Brennan; proud grandfather of 25; great-grandfather of 32; dear brother of Eileen (the late Bernard) McCullough and Virginia (the late Joseph) Brennan Terry was born on June 11, 1928. He was one of seven children of Martin J. and Katherine “Kitty” Killorin Brennan. Terry grew up in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin where he met and eventually married Mary Louise Kelley Brennan (Kel). Terry and Kel raised an athletic family of six children, four boys and two girls. Growing up, Terry attended Marquette University High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Terry was an All -Conference half back and the Marquette High teams he played on won 26 straight games.
Terry was a good student and a multi-sport letter winner. He held Marquette High School's pole vault record of 12 feet six inches with a bamboo pole for over three decades. Brennan attended Notre Dame. Terry was a four-year starter playing both offense as a half back and defense as a defensive back from 1945 to 1948. Terry was two-way starter on two National Championship Teams, 1946 and 1947. He led those teams in rushing, scoring, and pass receiving. Upon graduation, Terry was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles and was the overall number one draft choice of the Chicago Hornets of the All-American Football Conference which included the Cleveland Browns and the San Francisco 49ers. Both teams would later join the NFL. Instead of playing professional football, he chose to take a coaching and teaching job at Mount Carmel High School in Chicago. Terry was the first Chicago high school coach to ever win three consecutive Chicago city championships. His 1950 team is considered by many to be the best high school football team in the history of football in the state of Illinois. While coaching and teaching at Mount Carmel, Terry attended De Paul University’s law school at night. Upon graduation from law school Terry planned on joining his father’s law firm in Milwaukee where two of his older brothers were also partners. However, because of his coaching success important football teams were beginning to take notice of the young coach. Among others, The Chicago Cardinals discussed a coaching position with Terry. However, Father Theodore Hesburgh personally encouraged Terry to consider a position as the freshman football coach at Notre Dame which he accepted in 1953. Brennan was named head coach one year later at the age of 25. When asked if he was too young, he famously said, “Oh, I don't know. I'll be 26 in a few months.” He was the Notre Dame head coach for five seasons. While playing some of the most difficult schedules in Notre Dame history, from 1954 to 1958 Brennan compiled a 32-18 won loss record despite academic and scholarship restrictions that limited his roster size, especially when compared to his opponents . The 1956 season was his only losing season, but Paul Hornung was still able to win the Heisman Trophy that year. Brennan's 1957 squad earned the nickname, "Comeback Comets" after finishing 7-3 and ranked 10th. Among their victories was a 23-21 comeback over Army and a 7-0 shutout of Oklahoma at Norman, snapping the Sooners' NCAA record 47-game streak. A recently released book authored by the former coach, “Thou the Odds Be Great or Small, Notre Dame’s 1957 Comeback Season and the Year that Changed College Football,” highlights this comeback season. Terry was named The College Coach of the year in 1957. Brennan also was honored as “One of The Ten Outstanding Young Men" in the United States that year by the U.S Chamber of Commerce. After leaving Notre Dame, Brennan served as player conditioning coach for baseball's Cincinnati Reds during spring training in 1959 and eventually joined Goldman Sachs, a large New York investment banking firm, in their Chicago office. He also entered the broadcasting world on a part time basis. He and Lindsey Nelson were the broadcasting team for the “College Game of the Week” in the 60’s for ABC, NBC and CBS. His producers for the "College Game of the Week "were Roone Arledge at ABC, Don Ohlmeyer at NBC, and Frank Chirkinian at CBS. Terry and Lindsey Nelson were also the first TV broadcast team that performed and called footballs first “Instant Reply”! Terry had a long career in investment banking, broadcasting and later broadcasting management with, One-On-One Sports and The Sporting News. Brennan is a member of the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame and was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1981.

Visitation Friday, September 10, 2021, 9:00 a.m. until time of Funeral Mass, 11:00 a.m. at Saints Faith, Hope & Charity Church, 191 Linen Street, Winnetka, IL 60093.
To virtually attend the Funeral Mass, CLICK HERE

Interment private at Sacred Heart Cemetery, Northbrook, IL